H20

Roughly 55-60% of the human body is made up of water, meaning it’s pretty important for your body’s natural function, but what role does it play in weight loss?

  • Water contains zero calories, so if you switch your normal calorie containing beverage with water you’re naturally consuming fewer calories and also achieving greater health benefits by removing sugar/chemical filled beverages.
  • Drinking water before a meal is believed to reduce your appetite. You end up consuming fewer calories because you feel satiated by a smaller quantity of food.
  • Drinking cold water actually burns calories as extra energy is consumed by the body in order to warm it back up.
  • Dehydration will affect the intensity at which you’re able to train. So staying well hydrated will improve your performance in the gym!

So how much water should you drink?

That’s a very difficult question to answer as so many individual factors need to be taken into consideration. For example individuals who exercise at a high intensity on a daily basis will require greater water intake than individuals who are sedentary. Water is also consumed ‘accidentally’ in the foods we eat such as cucumber which has a high concentration of water! Realistically, there is such a thing as having too much water… Water toxicity occurs when an individual consumes an excessive amount of water, far beyond the needs of their body, and it causes an imbalance in their body’s electrolytes leading to severe consequences. To avoid water intoxication ensure you’re not exceeding 0.8-1L of water per hour.

In general, individuals should strive for 1-2 litres of water per day, and if you’re still feeling thirsty, then increase your water intake until you have quenched your thirst.

Written by EmJ Sheldrake, F45 Training The Pearl, Head Trainer